Moyes: Maturity key to Rooney success

David Moyes believes Wayne Rooney's maturity is a reason why he is delivering for both Manchester United and England.

Rooney turns 28 on October 24 and helped England qualify for the World Cup by scoring against Montenegro and Poland in their last two games.

And, despite injuries, he has already struck five times for United this season, leading his manager to praise him for his efforts and attitude.

"He's at the age in his career where he would be one of the main players and he's certainly a main player for Manchester United," Moyes said. "He takes responsibility, scores the goals that are required and he's done that from a young age.

"The age he is now, he's got that maturity and it shows in how he plays and the condition he is in with the way he is playing for club and country."

Rooney is expected to retain his place in the United attack for Saturday's Premier League game against Southampton but manager Moyes is not yet sure if all of the many players who were away representing their countries are fit.

"It's always a concern, especially when you have so many players are away like we do," Moyes said. "I'll monitor training, one or two are nursing knocks so we'll need to look at it but hopefully they will be okay."